At its annual meeting in Miami on May 19, 2012, the 64 member board of directors of the 103 year old NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) passed a resolution to support same-sex marriage closely on the heels of President Obama's and Vice President Biden's support of the same.
This move further debunks the myth that black folks are more homophobic than anyone else.
The resolution stated:
The NAACP Constitution affirmatively states our objective to ensure the "political, educational, social and economic equality" of all people. Therefore, the NAACP has opposed and will continue to oppose any national, state, local policy or legislative initiative that seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law or to remove the Constitutional rights of LGBT citizens. We support marriage equality consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Further, we strongly affirm the religious freedoms of all people as protected by the First Amendment."
Julian Bond, former chairman of the NAACP said that the President's support of same-sex marriage was a "tipping point" for many board members according to the New York Times. "This proves that conventional wisdom is not true" he added.
Yet according to a recent poll 36 percent of black Democrats support legalizing same-sex marriage versus 61 percent of white Democrats.
Maxim Thorne, formerly with the NAACP said " for certain people, it was a very long evolution and a very long process of reconciling their faith with this, and coming to a very civil rights understanding of marriage equality versus a theological understanding of marriage"
"The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure the political, social and economic equality of all people," said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAACP. "We have and will oppose efforts to codify discrimination into law."
"Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP's support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people." said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP.
The NAACP supported Loving v. Virginia and opposed Proposition 8 in California as well as the Defense of Marriage Act and the recent referendum in North California to ban same-sex unions and marriages. There are 1200 local branches of the NAACP, some say they are not in line with the national organization but the North Carolina branch also opposed the NC referendum.
Perhaps the key to this battle is to position the issue as supporting equality and the constitution versus any interpretation of religion.
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I think I am more sickened by what the NAACP has become. Once an organization that could boast impeccable values, the NAACP is now nothing more than a politicized think tank. This recent endorsement isn't a reflection of any new found values. The NAACP is so clearly trying to "save" the black vote for boy wonder Obama. It's almost disgusting to watch the way in which this organization "progresses".
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom both young and old surrounded the house. “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the LORD out of the heavens. (Genesis 19)
So how was Obama’s support of Gay marriage the “right thing to do?”